Tuesday Tails... Tort Report

Milagro met her mother a couple of days ago, and was introduced to roses as a treat.  She was not intimidated at all by the size difference and bobbed her head at Poko Ono, in challenge.

Poko just ignored Milagro and kept right on eating.

I had earlier given them both drinks of water after filling the bird bath:

The next morning, I was watering the shade patio plants, and the Lucky and his dad, Churchy, who know each other well as sparring partners, came down from the hill for a big drink.

Lucky is in the front, and Churchy is just almost out of the frame to the rear.

Tortoises love to get wet and to drink up the puddles left in summertime when I water.  In the wild, if there is a rain storm, tortoises will come from all around and just PILE into the resulting pools of a desert rain storm in Spring and Summer. 

It's really been hot here, up around a 100 or more degrees.

This next picture really gives a good view of the difference in a male tortoise's shell.   They curve down at the tail end very distinctly.

Dusty and Milagro spend a little time outside in an enclosure but with temperatures up so high, we can't let them stay too long.  The big torts all have dug tunnels into the earth so that they can cool down.  We can't let the two babies do that or we'd never see them again.  I remember catching seven of them one year, after we discovered Lucky overturned in a flowerpot, dropped there by a crow.  That poor little fellow, no bigger than a half a walnut, was walking crookedly for several years after that!

His sisters and brothers I caught by getting up very early and watching for them to reveal themselves as they came out of their hiding places in the rock wall.  So fun, having these pets but also a pain in heart because they are not easy to raise and must spend several years awake and eating just to get them large enough to survive.    A friend has two of them so with Lucky, that is only three that survived to grow up out of the seven. 

Hope you enjoyed this Tuesday Tails.  Wolfie has read this and approves of the content.  hehe

DH is reading something to me:  I am warning you.  Please don't you be eating what has been just announced as the worst fast food in America.   It's called a Big Catch.  It is a big, deep fried fish piece, and comes with deep fried hush puppies and onion rings.  Sounds yummy to me!  hehe..

It weighs in as calories at 1,320, which is no more than a Big Mac, fries and a shake, but this thing is a  60/40 split of fish and greasy batter.  Still sounds yummy to me!  I'd better go eat some carrot sticks!